Making 'gay' a slur

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

As I walk through the halls of my high school, it is nearly impossible not to hear someone say, "That's so gay," "Faggot" or "No homo." This bothers me because I have a friend who contemplated suicide because he was gay.

People don't stop and think how hurtful words can be. The casual use of the word gay in a derogatory manner is disrespectful, homophobic and insensitive.

People who are gay have a hard enough time. They have to face all kinds of discrimination, from a whole lot of people.

Why has the word gay been made into an insult? Gay is not a synonym for stupid. It is time for some people to pick up a dictionary and stop being so ignorant.